NEW DELHI, April 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The
United States has expressed concern that India's crackdown on
the activities of the Ford Foundation and Greenpeace India could
limit "necessary and critical debate" in the world's largest
democracy and is seeking "clarification".

A U.S. State Department official said Washington was aware
New Delhi had suspended the registration of Greenpeace India and
put the Ford Foundation on a security watch list, ordering
government approval of any of its activities in India.

The Ford Foundation, one of the world's largest charitable
funds, was put on a watch list on Thursday after the Indian home
ministry said it was investigating funding to a group run by a
prominent activist and critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Civil society groups say New Delhi's move to restrict the
movement of foreign funding to local charities is an attempt to
stifle voices which oppose Modi's model of economic development.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington
was "concerned about the difficulties caused to civil society
organizations" by the way the Foreign Contributions Regulations
Act had been applied.

"We are concerned that this recent ruling limits a necessary
and critical debate within Indian society, and we are seeking a
clarification on this issue with the appropriate Indian
authorities," she told a press briefing late on Friday.

In a crackdown on foreign funding to non-governmental
organisations, India's home ministry has instructed the central
bank to check with the government before passing any money from
the New York-based Ford Foundation to local organisations.

All funds distributed by the foundation should be "utilized
for bonafide welfare activities without compromising on concerns
for national interest and security", the ministry said.

The Ford Foundation, which has worked in India since 1952,
said the action related to an investigation into local group
Sabrang Communications but added the foundation "has been and
continues to be deeply respectful of the laws of the land".

Sabrang, which is run by activist Teesta Setalvad and has a
mission to "strengthen conflict resolution and peace building"
in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, was given $250,000 by
the Ford Foundation in 2009, the foundation's website said.

Last week Sabrang was accused by a state minister from
Gujarat of misusing funds to create "communal disharmony".

Setalvad is a long-time critic of Modi, a Hindu leader, who
was chief minister of Gujarat state in western India in 2002
when almost 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in riots.

Setalvad and her husband are currently fighting accusations
covered in the India media of embezzling funds meant for a
museum to honour victims of the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

This is not the first time the Indian government has blocked
foreign money to a non-government organisation citing concerns
over the country's national security.

In June last year, India's intelligence service said
Greenpeace and other lobby groups were damaging the country's
economy by campaigning against power projects, mining and
genetically modified food.

While Greenpeace denied the allegations, India has barred
the organisation from receiving foreign funds by suspending its
license for six months and frozen all its accounts.
(Reporting by Nita Bhalla, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)